Thursday, August 19, 2010

Gasoline Silver, Procedure Club

Gasoline Silver is a three-piece combo from Minnesota. Formed in 2009 in the Twin Cities, Gasoline Silver includes Ron Franklin (vocals, harp, guitar), Andy Hertel (drums), and Josh Misner (synthesizers and tambourine).

Prior to starting the band, Ron Franklin toured the U.S. and Europe with just a telecaster, a harmonica rack and a mess of feedback. In 2007 and 2008, he released three full-length solo albums (RON FRANKLIN, CITY LIGHTS, and BLUE SHADOWS FALLING). He also played in several Memphis bands, including the Natural Kicks, Mouserocket, and, briefly, the Memphis version of Arthur Lee and Love.

After a spell on the road, Franklin found himself with a batch of songs that led him in new directions. He began recording, stacking drumbeats and electrical instruments until he heard the desired mix of colors. After enlisting Hertel and Misner, they completed the album as a trio, discovering they had an instant live band rapport.

Sometimes I wish Procedure Club would stop doing stuff because they are turning this page into a damn Procedure Club fan site. They are a collaborative "bedroom-pop" project founded by Andrea and Polish emigré Adam Malec in New Haven, Connecticut in 2008. The two began recording as a natural progression from their boredom with living in poverty in New Haven, sharing musical tastes in shoegaze and pop bands of the 80s and 90s, such as Black Tambourine, and The Jesus and Mary Chain, as well as a common admiration for Baroque artists such as Purcell and Bach. Out of this god-forsaken alliance comes Procedure Club, in which Adam and Andrea have combined melodic song structures with heavily reverbed vocals, stuttering mechanical drum beats, dirty bass, synths, and alternately washed-out and jangly guitars.